Ukraine pledges to carry out a number of reforms to join NATO

In the bilateral agreement on security guarantees signed between the USA and Ukraine, official Kyiv undertook to carry out a number of institutional reforms on the country's path to membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the website of the official online representation of the President of Ukraine.

The document states that the parties will cooperate for the development of democratic, economic, defense, and security institutions of Ukraine with the aim of promoting Euro-Atlantic integration and modernization of Ukraine in accordance with the democratic principles and standards of the EU and NATO, as well as with the aim of prioritizing the common values ​​of NATO and the interoperability of the Security Forces and defense of Ukraine.

The parties also undertook to cooperate to promote Ukraine's implementation of reforms of democratic, economic, defense, and security institutions in accordance with its goals for accession to the EU, adapted priorities of the NATO Annual National Program, as well as obligations and agreements provided for by agreements and arrangements with the International Monetary Fund.

According to the agreement, among other reforms, Ukraine must make efforts to:

• strengthen the reform of the Ukrainian justice sector in order to promote the independence and integrity of the judiciary;

• implement strong anti-corruption measures, including strengthening all independent state anti-corruption institutions, such as the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine;

• reform law enforcement, security, tax and customs agencies to address jurisdictional issues, as well as increase transparency and accountability and strengthen the rule of law;

• strengthen corporate governance in accordance with the principles of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at state and defense enterprises, which will contribute to increasing the confidence of foreign investors and attracting investments;

• adopt NATO standards for transparency, accountability, and competition in the management and oversight of security and procurement policies and practices;

• to transform defense planning and resource management systems in order to increase transparency, improve efficiency, and strengthen interoperability with NATO;

• to reorganize command and control structures in accordance with NATO principles in order to increase operational interoperability and ensure effective civilian oversight;

• modernize human resource management systems in the defense sector and military education to align them with NATO principles and standards.

In addition, the parties confirm their support for Ukraine's right to choose its own security mechanisms.

"The United States confirms that the future of Ukraine lies in NATO," the agreement states.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 14/06/2024